Selling Animals as Pets
This guide will tell you exactly what paperwork you need to submit with your application and direct you to further information you should read before your inspection.
What documents do I need to submit?
It is important that you submit all of the below documents with your application as they are mandatory requirements of the licence.
You may choose to present the documents slightly differently to how we have recommended - this is fine as long as all of the required information is clearly presented. Your policies and procedures should provide a snapshot of your business and detail how you meet all of the Licence conditions.
You must submit:
- Insurance policy (minimum £5million).
- Standard operating procedures, including
- Cleaning Procedures
- Feeding Procedures (including for immature animals)
- Transportation Procedures
- Prevention of Disease Procedure (including infectious disease and isolation policy)
- Buyer Assessments for Suitability
- A register of all animals kept on site for sale, including:
- the full name of the supplier of the animal
- the animal’s sex (where known)
- except in the case of fish, the animal’s age (where known)
- details of any veterinary treatment (where known)
- the date of birth of the animal or, if the animal was acquired by the licence holder, the date of its acquisition
- the date of sale of the animal by the licence holder
- an area for the date of the animal’s death
- If these records are kept in the form of business records (such as invoices and proof-of-sale receipt) then you do not need a separate register but please indicate how you keep the records in your application.
- Monitoring and Ensuring Health and Welfare Procedure covering
- Addition of animals to a group
- Socialisation with other animals
- Monitoring of the animals (including overnight care/monitoring for animals)
- Mitigation measures to prevent undue stress while on display
- Handling of the animals
- Addressing and recording abnormal behaviour/illness
- Water testing policy (if applicable)
- Emergency response plan covering
- Death of an animal (including storage of the carcass)
- Escape of an animal
- Fire (including fire drills)
- Extreme weather
- Breakdown of essential systems
- Revocation/Suspension of the licence
- Evacuation, detailing how staff and animals will evacuate, designated holding areas for animals and which animals cannot be evacuated)
- Emergency keyholders
- Euthanasia
- Venomous species (if applicable)
- Qualifications, covering
- Training Records
- Training Policy for staff
- Continued Professional Development
- Examples of relevant information packs given to buyers covering:
- Suitable husbandry
- Health care and vaccinations
- Feeding and diet
- Handling
- Life expectancy
- Suitable accessories
- Socialisation
- Microchipping (if applicable)
- Neutering (if applicable)
- Water quality (if applicable)
What else should I do to prepare for my inspection?
You should make sure you are familiar with the conditions of the licence to demonstrate how you meet them.
When we inspect, we assess your business against the Statutory Guidance that accompanies the Licensing Regulations. Please ensure you have read the Guidance for Selling Animals as Pets here.